Finally collected my thoughts and wrote my email to @hamiltonwoodtype . Seeing the way the letterpress community has come together against racism and for community has been really inspiring. I don’t know many of you in real life, but I’d like to, maybe at some future, better Wayzgoose #wearehamfam #printmaking #letterpress
When @fritzswanson asked me earlier this year if I wanted to help him help @bowerbox take over the American Typecasting Fellowship Newsletter, a project nourished and shared by Rich Hopkins since 1978, I didn’t have to think much about it, I just said, yes, of course. Now, after eight months of dreaming, planning, editing, learning, the three of us have created a beautiful specimen of how people can work both in solitude and community to keep a tradition alive and also help it to change.
Thank you so much to the generosity of the contributors, and to everyone who has bought a copy so far. Want one? We’ve still got a few. Have ideas? We’d love to hear from you.
I made a thing! 12 runs. Full of mistakes. Lots of learning. It’s my quirky little ode to Tina Turner as part of the @centralprintstudios Outstanding Authors Print Exchange. Can’t wait to see what everyone else makes 🧡
The north east corner at the start of the day. The same corner at the end of the day. And the view from that corner of the whole cleared and organized north wall (of the south building. We shall not speak of the north building). Temperatures peaked at 94. But such amazing work from Phil Driscoll, @m_o_l_l_o_y , @barriersnow , @stephtysonosorio , @typesyturvy , Ted, Jessie and Jake. A more complete report forthcoming on Patreon. @fritzswanson out!
Yesterday I (Fritz Swanson) wanted to focus on the achievement. We made room for the two smallest ATF matrix cabinets during our work session on Saturday (read the Patreon post for a full report). But people is our real mission. And we’re grateful for @stephtysonosorio@m_o_l_l_o_y@barriersnow@ebecks Phil Driscoll and @seat.david . Thanks for coming down and serving in the foundry. — @fritzswanson
I just spent a week learning the beautiful and dangerous art of casting type at Rich Hopkins’ Monotype University as part of @printingstewards , an organization run by @fritzswanson , Jody Harnish, and @ebecks , which seeks to preserve the metal type casting tradition. So cool to meet @bowerbox while there, and to learn alongside (and so much from!) Gerald of @smallworksdetroit . These machines make individual pieces of type; wouldn’t it be cool if you could handset your next work with fresh metal? If you could have complete control over letter spacing? Also, I got to be around one of my favorite presses, a Heidelberg Windmill! A big big thank you to The Printing Stewards, Rich Hopkins, and especially Fritz Swanson, my friend and mentor, for this opportunity!
I’ve still got a lot of these, and there are a lot of reps who need to call for a ceasefire. I know money is tight right now, so, if you send me your mailing address, I’ll mail your rep, no receipt needed. But if you send me your mailing address AND donate, I’ll send you a Free Palestine print, if you want one. If this still isn’t up your alley, that’s ok. I just hope you are calling your reps, and keeping your people from looking the other way
The IDF has killed more than 11000 Palestinians since October 7th, and this violence is a continuation of atrocities that started a little over a century ago. The US, as Israel’s biggest supporter, is as much a purveyor of this genocide as Israel. It’s awful, it’s shameful, and it’s easy to feel powerless, hey, they WANT us to feel powerless, but there are little things we can do. We can protest, we can post, we can have conversations, we can reach out to our representatives. From my corner, I hope I can encourage people to donate money and to reach representatives in a way that might get blocked less than phone calls. I’ve made two prints, one that says Free Palestine, and another modeled after the text from the 5calls transcript. If you send me a screenshot of a receipt and your mailing address, I can either send you a Free Palestine print AND/OR send the Ceasefire Now message to your representative. Some charities I’ve donated to include PCRF, Medical Aid for Palestinians, and the MATW-project. If you have any organizations you think should be supported, please comment. There is no minimum amount you need to donate in order for me to send mail. Happy to also include any extra text, though it will be handwritten, on the letter. If this isn’t up your alley, that’s ok. I encourage you to keep calling your representatives, 5 calls is great.
A wee bit obsessed with this simple Thank You card I printed. 12pt Copperplate above an ornament a friend gave me a while ago. Black, pink, and cream 💖
Bb’s first accordion book. Lots of things I’d change, wonky in a lot of places. But I love Eurostyle, and Kraft paper, and green. Garamond is classic. Sorry the photos are a little unhinged. Took them on a break from work outside of the post office before sending them to @centralprintstudios for their Outstanding Authors Print Exchange. Excited to see everyone else’s work. Full of intention to sign up for things, to work on more intricate projects, and to be gentle with myself when they aren’t perfect 💚 I’ll post the text in the comments ✨
